Gentiques' Fall Bazaar to fundraise for the homeless

Tuesday

Sep 27, 2011 at 3:15 AMSep 27, 2011 at 1:38 PM

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KIITTERY, Maine — There's nothing like splattering a few pumpkins to support a good cause.

Gentiques, a nonprofit boutique located on route 1 in Kittery, will host a Fall Bazaar on Sunday, Oct. 2. Guests can expect to enjoy live music, home baked goods, craft booths and, of course, a pumpkin tossing contest.

The proceeds of the bazaar will go to Fair Tide, another Kittery-based nonprofit that aids homeless people obtain permanent housing. In July, Fair Tide received a $50,000 challenge grant from an anonymous benefactor and must match the donation by raising $50,000 by Oct. 31.

Gentiques was founded in part to assist sister nonprofits with their fundraising efforts, but owner Genevieve Benton also had the environment in mind. Benton is also the owner of A Perfect Move, a moving company that works with clients to consolidate their belongings before a move in order to save space, time, and energy.

"When we first started out, Fair Tide helped us out and sold all our donations through their thrift store," explains Benton. "But they've been really affected by the bridge closure and we want to do what we can to get people interested in helping out."

A Perfect Move provides its customers with free appraisals and guides them through the process of selling any unwanted belongings to thrift stores. Customers can also donate those belongings to Gentiques where they can be confident that any profits will go back into the community through events such as the upcoming Fall Bazaar. Anything that isn't donated, sold, or moved is sent off to Aggregate Recycling Corporation in Elliot, Maine.

“Nobody wants to look at a big old landfill,” says Benton.

A Perfect Move is also a member of the Green Alliance, a seacoast business that promotes cooperation between seacoast organizations who go out of their way to be environmentally conscientious.

"I'm a mother of two children and I have a grandchild so I want to make sure they all have a great place to live," says Benton.

Gentiques' Fall Bazaar invites any artists, independent designers, recyclers, repurposers, collectors and anyone with a flare for transforming junk into gems to apply to become a vendor.

"First and foremost we want it to be fun," says Benton.

Interested parties should contact Kellan Maloney at (207) 438-0421 or kmaloney@gentiques.org. To donate to or learn more about Fair Tide, go to www.fairtide.org.